Army ROTC - Bison Battalion

The Bison Battalion Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) is a program for qualified students. It is the cornerstone of Army officer training that develops students, known as Cadets, into becoming the Army's future officers.

A two-part programThe four-year program focuses on critical thinking, principles of leadership, management, ethics and military history. It consists of two parts:

Basic Course: Typically taken during the first and second years. Includes one class per week and a leadership lab.

Advanced Course: Typically taken during the junior and senior years. Includes one class per week and leadership exercises over several weekends each semester.

The curriculum includes classroom training and practical exercises such as orienteering, paintball, rappelling and field training exercises. In the summer between their junior and senior years, Cadets take a four-week Leadership Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Extracurricular activitiesStudents are encouraged to round out their education through social, cultural and professional activities outside of class. Opportunities include:

Study abroad

Varsity and club athletics

Ranger Challenge Team (physically challenging competitive events)

Color Guard

Voluntary summer training courses

Bucknell Student Government

Career preparationStudents who complete the Advanced Course are prepared for service as commissioned officers in the active Army, or for part-time in the Army Reserve or Army National Guard.

Non-scholarship junior and senior Cadets receive a subsistence allowance of up to $500 a month.

Non-scholarship and some types of scholarship Cadets may also become part of Army Reserve or Army National Guard units while in ROTC to receive additional benefits.

Entrance criteriaTo enter Army ROTC, a student must be:

Enrolled full-time, working toward a bachelor's or graduate degree

Reasonably physically fit and medically qualified

A U.S. citizen

Under age 32 at graduation

Although the program is designed to start with new first-year students each fall, it is possible to enter the program as late as fall of the junior year. Students with prior military service or those who complete a 28-day summer training camp at Fort Knox, KY, may bypass the basic course-level training.

Time commitmentCadets are expected to complete the following during the program:

Approximately five hours per week of training during the first and second years

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